Decorating and Design Tips from Tobi Fairley

Tips to help you use color with confidence

Slide 1 Of Decorating and Design Tips
from
Tobi Fairley

Tobi Fairley

When we wrote a story about Little Rock designer Tobi Fairley’s own home, we predicted that one day “Tobi will be like Cher, or Oprah—one of those women for whom one name says it all.” She is a design dynamo who lights up rooms with playful palettes and who has designed a line of furniture for Hickory Chair.

How do you want to feel in the space—relaxed and reflective, or energized and encouraged? This will affect whether you choose warm or cool colors as a starting point. For high energy, red is the way to go. It’s the single color guaranteed to pump the most adrenaline. A red-orange is interesting with zebra stripes on the floor or as accent fabric on pillows or chairs.

There are no limits to what can inspire you—a napkin, nail polish, a man’s shirt, a landscape—the options are endless! A pretty aqua-turquoise pillow fabric can be the launching pad that points you to warmer corals and clean whites, or you might begin with a single piece of art.

Once you determine your colors, choose one piece and build the rest of the room’s palette around it. Maybe it’s an I-can’t-live-without-it lamp in a beautiful blue. Or maybe it’s a rug or fabric that combines a number of colors—then the lamp follows.

If you go bold with a wall color, such as these strong ceiling stripes and warm pumpkin walls, tone down the accessories in the room to create a nice complement. Notice that the art arranged above the bed is sculptural shapes in pure white.

Intentionally not color-matching your furnishings can create a super-chic look. Mix different shapes, sizes, styles, fabrics, and finishes. The sofa, wing chair, and ottoman seating at the table are all different colors, but fall within the same blue-and-white palette.

Carry at least one color from each room to the next to create a seamless look. Window treatments are a good connection. Even when the windows are mismatched, a similar treatment can transport color from one of these focal points to the other.

Remember too much of anything is bad for everything! If you are afraid a color might be too bold, opt to use it as an accent. Bright colors on pillows and end tables make brilliant bookmarks for a white sofa.